Sacked Andile Jali was injured, not on strike at Swallows, agent Makaab says

Andile Jali’s agent, Mike Makaab, has revealed the veteran midfielder has been sacked by Moroka Swallows, though the star’s name was not on the list of 22 players dismissed by the club doing the rounds on social media. 

Swallows recently dismissed most of their senior squad after they embarked on a strike after a disagreement stemming from the players’ allegation the club had failed to pay their salaries.   

The total number of players shown the door has been reported to be as many as 28.   

The strike forced the Dube Birds to fail to honour their last two Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixtures of 2023 against Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows in December.   

Swallows were charged by the PSL for bringing the league into disrepute and fined R1m, of which R600,000 is suspended for 24 months. They also forfeited six points.   

Speaking to KwaZulu-Natal radio station Gagasi FM where he is a co-host of its sport show, Makaab said Jali received a letter of dismissal alongside Letshene Phalane, who is also represented by the agent.   

“The two players ... that are not settled are Letshene Phalane and Andile Jali. But we are hoping that within the next week or two, we will have sorted their futures out,” Makaab said.   

“We are sure we’ve been able to sort out four other players [who have exited Swallows].   

“Andile was one of the players who were dismissed by Swallows. He got a letter of dismissal and we are speaking to the club; we are contesting that dismissal.”

Makaab suggested that Jali, who signed for Swallows from Sundowns for one season with an option to renew at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, was not on strike but out with an injury.   

“AJ was injured so he wasn’t available to train, and he wasn’t available to play,” Makaab said.   

“That’s what we are dealing with ... and I’m sure we will get a result.”   

City Press reported that Swallows has resigned some of the players that were sacked as they did not want to be part of the strike in the first place.

The SA Football Players’ Union (Safpu) has vowed to take Swallows to the PSL dispute resolution chamber if they continue to fire players.